Harmful Algae 76 (2018) 1–10

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Harmful Algae
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/hal

Cyanobacteria breakthrough: Effects of Limnothrix redekei

contamination in an artificial bank filtration on a regional water supply
Adam K. Rosea,* , Larelle Fabbroa , Susan Kinnearb
a
School of Medical and Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University, North Rockhampton, QLD, Australia
b
Research Division, Central Queensland University, North Rockhampton, QLD, Australia

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Article history:
Received 9 October 2017 Mitigation of cyanobacterial or “blue-green algal” blooms is a challenging task for water managers across
Received in revised form 18 March 2018 Australia. In the present study, a regional drinking water source (located in Central Queensland) was
Accepted 30 April 2018 studied to identify the potential risks posed by cyanobacteria. Data were collected from the drinking
water source (a lagoon) as well as the drinking water supply infrastructure, at monthly intervals between
Keywords: September 2012 and December 2014. In March 2013 there was an extreme rainfall event where
Drinking water floodwaters infiltrated the water supply without passing through bank filtration. The floodwaters also
Queensland compromised the bank filtration via erosion. The pump well and bank filtration system were
Cyanobacteria
subsequently upgraded/maintained in May 2013. Results showed that following the extreme event and
Limnothrix
infrastructure upgrade, two distinct Limnothrix redekei blooms microscopically identified, were detected
Flood
Chlorination in the drinking water supply chain. Further investigations indicated that the species was also present in
Bank filtration the pump well infrastructure, a dark environment, growing on the surface of the newly installed pump
well cement pipe. After observing the occurrence and habitat niche of this species during the present
study, a suggestion was made to minimise cyanobacterial contamination and proliferation within the
water supply chain infrastructure. The preliminary proposal is to use clean sand on the sub-surface layer
of the bank filtration, complemented with biologically active sand as a surface cap. Furthermore, the
culturing techniques reported in this study can potentially be used to optimize assessment for Limnothrix
redekei populations surrounding water extraction points.
© 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Maintaining safe and secure water supplies has become
increasingly challenging throughout Australia as well as globally.
The deterioration of water supplies and water quality is frequently
associated with activities such as population growth, increasing
urbanisation, and the expansion of agriculture. These pressures
have escalated land and water resource demand and resulted in
over-extraction and poorer water quality. Climate change is also an
additional stressor on the security of water supplies, due to shifts
in the duration, frequency and intensity of rainfall patterns, leading
to unpredictable wet seasons (IPCC, 2014). This combination of
pressures on water supplies has brought effective water treatment
and management techniques into sharp focus, as never before.
Implementing a multi-barrier approach to minimise contam-
inants is recognised as the most efficacious practice in securing
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: a.rose@cqu.edu.au (A.K. Rose).
safe water supplies (NHMRC, 2011). When harvesting water from
lakes and rivers, one of the most popular choices for the initial
barrier is bank filtration. Bank filtration is used widely around the
world as an economical and reliable technique to remove physical,
biological and chemical contaminants (Huelshoff et al., 2009a).
Whilst bank filtration was originally adopted in Europe (Schmidt
et al., 2003); it is now a preferred option for an initial barrier in a
multi-barrier system and is being implemented across both
developed and developing countries (Thakur et al., 2013; Dash
et al., 2008; Sharma and Amy, 2009; Huelshoff et al., 2009b).
Traditional bank filtration, defined as water passing through
alluvial sediments before entering the drinking water treatment
plants, is demonstrably effective as a passive method of improving
water quality (Tufenkji et al., 2002). A number of studies have
validated that bank filtration alone is effective in achieving
guidelines for drinking water standards, through its positive
effects on a range of physical, chemical and biological variables
(Table 1). In particular, bank filtration is a very effective method for
removing cyanobacterial cells and the associated toxins (see
Table 1 for references).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hal.2018.04.010
1568-9883/© 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
2 A.K. Rose et al. / Harmful Algae 76 (2018) 1–10

Table 1
Selected studies/experiments with reported improvements in physical, chemical and biological variables after utilising bank filtration.

Selected Studies/Experiments

Physical Improvements
Turbidity (NTU) Weiss et al. (2005), Dash et al. (2008), Dash et al. (2010), Thakur and Ojha (2010) and Freitas et al. (2012)
Electrical Conductivity (mS/ Freitas et al. (2012)
cm)
Hardness Freitas et al. (2012)
pH Freitas et al. (2012)
Temperature ( C) Gross-Wittke et al. (2010)

Reduction or Removal of Chemicals

Metals Lorenzen et al. (2010) and Freitas et al. (2012)
Nutrients Dash et al. (2008), Lorenzen et al. (2010) and Freitas et al. (2012)
Pharmaceuticals Heberer et al. (2004) and Stauder et al. (2012)
Pesticides Hoffmann and Gunkel (2011a) and Stauder et al. (2012)
Chemical Oxygen Demand Dash et al. (2008)
(COD)
Dissolved Organic Carbon Grünheid et al. (2005), Hoffmann and Gunkel (2011b) and Harvey et al. (2015)
(DOC)
Particulate Organic Carbon Gunkel et al. (2009)
(POC)
Cyanotoxins Chorus and Bartram (1999), Miller et al. (2001), Dillon et al. (2002), Chorus et al. (2003) and Grützmacher et al. (2009)
Natural Organic Matter Metge et al. (2010) and Hoffmann and Gunkel (2011a)
(NOM)
Biological Oxygen Demand Freitas et al. (2012)
(BOD)

Reduction or Removal of Organisms

Cryptosporidium sp. Ray et al. (2003), Weiss et al. (2005) and Metge et al. (2010)
Giardia sp. Ray et al. (2003) and Weiss et al. (2005)
Escherichia coli (E. coli) Wang (2002), Shamrukh and Abdel-Wahab (2008), Dash et al. (2010) and Thakur et al. (2013)
Coliforms Wang (2002), Weiss et al. (2005), Dash et al. (2008), Dash et al. (2010) and Freitas et al. (2012)
Viruses Harvey et al. (2015)
Cyanobacteria Chorus and Bartram (1999), Miller et al. (2001), Dillon et al. (2002), Chorus et al. (2003), Babica et al. (2005), Freitas et al. (2012), Romero
et al. (2014) and Harvey et al. (2015)

Over 40 toxin-producing cyanobacterial genera have been
identified to date, globally (Sivonen and Jones, 1999; Bernard et al.,
2011), with a further unknown number of “potentially” toxic
species. Worldwide, about 60% of cyanobacterial samples investi-
gated have contained toxins (WHO, 2003), with Australian samples
averaging between 42% and 84% in terms of testing positive for
toxicity (Sivonen and Jones, 1999). The incidence of cyanobacterial
blooms in freshwater supplies appears to be increasing in many
parts of the world (Sanseverino et al., 2016; Wells et al., 2015) and
as testing methods become more sophisticated and with increased
emphasis on research in this area in other regions of the world, it is
anticipated that additional toxic species will be detected (WHO,
2003). Of recent interest has been Limnothrix redekei, which has
demonstrated toxicity in mice and tadpoles, however, the
molecular structure of the toxins has not been elucidated
(Humpage et al., 2012; Bernard et al., 2011; Daniels et al., 2014).
Risk management associated with cyanobacteria in water
supplies is challenging, as blooms can form in a number of
different zones of the water body, including the surface
(epilimnion), sub-surface (metalimnion and hypolimnion) and
on benthos (Codd et al., 2005; Gaget et al., 2017). Whilst it has been
readily accepted that blooms are most common in warm, still
waters of high nutrient concentrations, insidious populations are
also known to occur in less obvious and visible locations, such as in
subsurface waters or in benthic mats (Mohamed et al., 2006).
Potentially toxic cyanobacteria have also recently been reported in
underground and/or bottled water (Gkelis and Vlamis, 2017).
Limnothrix redekei has also been reported to survive in the dark, if
there is a carbon source (Daniels, 2016) or if it is associated with a
heterotrophic bacteria (Meffert, 1989). There have been no
reported deaths from consumption by healthy individuals of
water containing cyanotoxins, however, some deaths have been
reported in dialysis patients (Jochimsen et al., 1998; Carmichael
et al., 2001). There is also a growing body of literature particularly
that based on animal models, that suggests that cyanotoxin
exposure may be linked with a range of both acute and chronic
effects, following a range of exposure types (Carmichael, 2001).
Given the present state of knowledge, it is prudent for water
managers to regard any bloom formations as potentially harmful
and, therefore, corrective action should be taken (WHO, 2003).
In previous studies, it has been reported that bank filtration is
effective in removing cells of a number of cyanobacterial species, as
well as the intracellular and extracellular toxins. For example,
these include Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii (Romero et al., 2014),
Microcystis sp. (Babica et al., 2005; Grützmacher et al., 2009),
Aphanizomenon sp. (Freitas et al., 2012), and Limnothrix redekei
(Freitas et al., 2012), as well as the toxins cylindrospermopsin and
microcystin. It appears that toxin removal and/or breakdown
occurs in the uppermost layers of sediment, where the soil is highly
biologically active (Grützmacher et al., 2009; Chorus and Bartram,
1999; Chorus et al., 2003; Dillon et al., 2002; Mohamed et al.,
2006). In some studies, however, it has been reported that there
are cyanobacterial cells capable of penetrating the bank filter,
including both unicellular cyanobacteria and fragments of
filamentous cyanobacteria (Rachman et al., 2014; Zamyadi et al.,
2012; Pazouki et al., 2016; Lahti et al., 2001). This is problematic
considering cell contamination can cause undesirable effects on
drinking water quality (e.g., unpleasant taste/smell through
geosmin and methylisoborneol) (Suurnäkki et al., 2015; Graham
et al., 2010); and it is of particular concern because of the threat of
toxin contamination in waters intended for human consumption.
Artificial bank filtration is a filtration method whereby the
water from a natural river or lake is drawn through a bank that has
been purposefully positioned, using either local or imported
 A.K. Rose et al. / Harmful Algae 76 (2018) 1–10 3

materials. Artificial bank filtration thus lends itself well to which makes this study site unique, with the sections upstream of
applications where avoidance of cyanobacterial cells and/or toxins the lagoon being in near pristine condition (Rose et al., 2017).
is required. For example, to avoid excessive cyanobacterial cells Three study sites were investigated; the natural lagoon from
entering the drinking water treatment facility, water is often which the drinking water is drawn; the raw water pipe leading
drawn from areas in the water body where cyanobacterial cells are from the lagoon; and the pre-chlorinated section of the pipe just
low and/or modifications to the intake areas are made so as to before the waters enters the treatment plant (Fig. 1).
reduce the number of these cells in the water treatment facility
(Stitz et al., 2013). There is, however, a paucity of information in the
2.1. Site descriptions
literature with regards to the efficiency of artificial bank filtration
structures in addressing a range of water quality problems
2.1.1. Drinking water supply (natural lagoon)
including cyanobacterial contamination, particularly with variable
The lagoon has a surface area of approximately 75,000 m2, and
in-stream conditions. Another area of study where there is very
has an average depth of 1 m–2 m, extending to 3 m deep in some
little scientific information is the impact of bank damage or
areas. The surrounding land is used for low intensity dry land
‘washout’ on filtration capacity following extreme water flow
agricultural grazing primarily with beef cattle, with no develop-
events such as flooding.
ment occurring upstream of this site. During flood events the water
Given the previously described voids in research, combined
level can reach as high as 15 m above the base line water level.
with the knowledge that contamination events in small remote/
The drinking water supply is drawn from the lagoon which
regional supplies often occur during extreme events (NHMRC,
passes through artificial bank filtration materials (Fig. 1). The
2011), the present project focussed on the effectiveness of
artificial bank filtration is comprised of a combination of medium –
compromised artificial bank filtration following extreme water
coarse sand (0.25 mm–1 mm) and capped with rocks, ranging in
flooding events and infrastructure upgrades. The study focussed on
size between 25 and 75 cm, and all materials being sourced from a
the cyanobacterial risk to the water supply of a small rural
local quarry. Due to geographical constraints the bank was
Australian township. The scope of the study included sampling and
artificially constructed as a pre-filter to the drinking water
observations during an extreme weather event, which led to fast
treatment plant, to reduce biological material entering from the
flowing flood waters damaging the bank filtration and associated
lagoon. During floods, a water level increase of 4 m is enough to
infrastructure. This provided a novel opportunity to examine the
completely immerse the pump station and cause some scouring,
efficacy of the bank filtration system, under routine as well as
the rocks were incorporated to help reduce erosion following flood
extreme in-stream conditions.
events. The distance travelled through the bank filtration is
between 5 m and 15 m and the passage time is relatively fast, being
2. Methods
only minutes to pass from the lagoon to the pump well.
This study focussed on a subtropical unregulated catchment on
the Australian eastern seaboard. A small regional town in Central 2.1.2. Raw water pipe
Queensland currently sources its drinking water from the The outlet is 4.5 km distant from the lagoon intake, it is located
permanent lagoon, which is located at the base of the headwaters between the permanent lagoon and drinking water treatment
of a relatively unmodified ephemeral creek. Whilst seasonal plant. The pipe comprises sections of cast iron, with intervals of an
ephemerality is a common stream condition in this region, most asbestos product. The pipe was installed in the 1970s and has been
other catchments have experienced some degree of modification, in continuous operation for about 40 years.

Fig. 1. Schematic of the bank filtration and sampling sites, main illustration depicts the water supply creek cross-section; the inset represents the top view. Each section is
colour coded to compare with Fig. 2. Green spots are areas which viable cultures were collected, red spot no viable cultures produced. Picture not to exact scale (sizing is
approximate for illustrative purposes). (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
Source: Author’s own.
4 A.K. Rose et al. / Harmful Algae 76 (2018) 1–10
2.1.3. Pre-chlorinated pipe
This sampling point was situated 6 km from the lagoon intake at
the drinking water treatment facility. The water consists of 90%–
100% raw water from the lagoon and up to 10% bore water, sourced
from a bore close to the drinking water treatment plant. The raw
water from the lagoon is mixed for a number of reasons, including
to reduce the volume of water drawn from the lagoon, as well as to
add minerals to the drinking water. The water is pre-chlorinated
with an average residual of 1.04 mg/L free chlorine and 1.35 mg/L
total chlorine before entering the treatment plant.
2.2. Field methods
2.2.1. Physical variables
Physical and chemical water quality variables for the lagoon
were recorded at monthly intervals between September 2012 and
December 2014. The suite of water quality variables included
temperature ( C), conductivity (mS/cm), total dissolved solids (mg/
L), salinity (ppt), pH, oxidation reduction potential (mV), turbidity
(NTU) and dissolved oxygen (% saturation). A minimum of three
readings were recorded on each occasion and the average value
was used. A YSI 6600 multiprobe sonde was used to measure water
quality; this instrument was serviced and calibrated in the
laboratory prior to any field research according to the manufac-
turer’s recommendations (YSI, 2009).
2.2.2. Chemical variables
Water chemistry samples from the lagoon and drinking water
supply network were collected quarterly between December 2012
and December 2014. These included total and dissolved metals,
nutrients, salts, disinfection by-products and other inorganic
analytes. Water samples were collected and stored on ice according
to the protocols of the Queensland Government’s ‘Sampling
Procedures for Drinking Waters’ (QGOV, 2009). The samples were
then sent to a NATA approved laboratory for analyses (Australian
Laboratory Services Pty Ltd, Gladstone).
Fig. 2. Co-occurrence of rainfall (mm) and the concentration of Limnothrix redekei cells between September 2012 and December 2014, in the drinking water supply lagoon,
raw water and pre-chlorinated pipes. The large black arrow indicates maintenance/upgrade on the pump well infrastructure and the bank filtration.
2.2.3. Cyanobacteria sampling
Algal samples were collected at monthly intervals from
September 2012 to December 2014. Three samples of 1 L each
were pooled from each of the lagoon and supply chain sites, from
which duplicate 50 mL water subsamples were collected. Care was
taken to use techniques which followed the protocols of the
Queensland Government Sampling Procedures for Drinking
Waters (QGOV, 2009) and Hötzel and Croome (1999). Half the
samples were preserved using Lugol’s iodine prepared as described
in Hötzel and Croome (1999), while the remaining half were left
unpreserved for cell identification and culturing.
2.3. Laboratory methods
2.3.1. Enumeration and identification
Enumeration of algae was undertaken with the preserved
samples using the Sedgwick rafter counting method of Hötzel and
Croome (1999). A minimum of 30 fields were counted to give 95%
confidence in the record of species present (McAlice, 1971) and
where possible, a minimum of 100 cells were counted to provide a
maximum counting error of 20% (Lund et al., 1958). Species
identifications were made using a number of sources (Anagnos-
tidis and Komárek, 1988; Gkelis et al., 2005; Bernard et al., 2011;
Komárek et al., 2014).
On occasion individual cells were hard to differentiate, due to
inconspicuous cell walls. To overcome this problem the micro-
scopes light source was altered in intensity and using different
phases allowed for the cell wall to be identified. Morphological and
ecological behaviours in the field and laboratory were compared to
genetically confirmed Limnothrix redekei specimens from the
existing collection at CQUniversity (Fabbro et al., 2010).
2.3.2. Applied culture method and photomicrography
In the laboratory, the unpreserved samples were mixed gently
and aliquots of 1 mL were placed on a sterile Petri dish, using a
sterile pipette. The Petri dish was covered and sealed using Para
film and set aside for a minimum of 1 day either on a window sill or
 A.K. Rose et al. / Harmful Algae 76 (2018) 1–10 5

in a growth chamber set at 25  C with a 16:8 h light: dark
photoperiod. The Petri dishes were then rinsed thoroughly with
reverse osmosis water and inspected using a microscope at 400
magnification. To assess suitable culturing media, samples with
remaining Limnothrix redekei attached to the Petri dish had either
ASM-1 (Gorham et al., 1964), autoclaved lagoon water or distilled
water added and these were then returned to the window sill or
growth chamber. After a minimum of 1 month, Limnothrix redekei
was successfully subcultured using traditional techniques de-
scribed in Bernard et al. (2011).
2.4. Statistical analyses
Statistical analyses were completed using PRIMER-E7 software.
Analysis of similarities (ANOSIM) was used to compare variation
between sites. To reduce artefacts, any variables having values less
than the limits of reporting (LOR) for the majority of the study were
omitted from statistical analyses.
3. Results
3.1. Rainfall
Three significant rain events occurred during the study, in
January 2013, and March and December 2014 (Fig. 2). As a result of
the January 2013 rain event the lagoon was completely flushed and
artificial bank compromised, whereas the rain events in March and
December 2014 served only to fill the lagoon with water as a result
of draining from the upstream sections of the creek. The water
level during the flood in January 2013 exceeded the height of the
pump well. During this time, water was, therefore, also able to
enter the pump well without passing through the artificial bank
filtration.
3.2. Infrastructure maintenance
Following the January 2013 flood, the pump well and
surrounding bank were compromised, with sections of the bank
surrounding the pump well being washed away. In May 2013, the
pump well and associated piping were replaced and the bank
reconstructed to surround the pump well. During this process, field
observations showed that many rocks with living Limnothrix
redekei biofilms which had previously been situated on the top
surface layer of the artificial bank were relocated to the bottom
layer of the pump well.
3.3. Limnothrix redekei
Limnothrix redekei cell concentrations were detected in all three
sites of the drinking water supply chain (Fig. 2). Average cell
concentrations were similar in the raw and pre-chlorinated
sections of the supply chain pipe, whilst concentrations in the
lagoon were on average an order of magnitude lower (Table 2).
There was no correlation between Limnothrix redekei and water
quality variables, suggesting a tolerance to a range of conditions.
3.4. Water quality variables and nutrients
Nutrient concentrations throughout the study were, on average,
less than the Queensland Water Quality Guidelines (Table 2)
(Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, 2009). The
findings from an ANOSIM provided data indicating that nutrient
concentrations at the three sites were similar on average
throughout the study (Global R value = 0.079, p = 0.093). There
was a gradual increase in nutrient concentrations as water flowed
through the supply chain, likely due to groundwater inputs. TKN is
nitrogen bound in organic substances, unlike the increase in TP and
TRP, TKN was on average lower in the pre-chlorinated section. The
p value was not significant, however, this may be related to the
small number of replicates. The R value is a scaled measure of the
separation between groups, and can still be used to interpret
relative values. The water quality variables (hardness, Cl , Ca2+, Na+
and pH) at each site were similar, with a Global R value of 0.044
(p = 0.19) (Table 2). There were gradual improvements in selected
water quality variables (hardness, Cl , Ca2+, Na+ and pH) as the
water flowed through each section of the supply chain.
3.5. Field and laboratory observations
3.5.1. Culture
It proved readily possible to isolate and culture Limnothrix
redekei from samples collected from both the raw water pipe and
pre-chlorinated pipe. It was much easier to culture sub-samples
grown from the pre-chlorinated pipe because the chlorine
treatment had been effective in eliminating many other species,
or reducing these to non-detectable numbers. By contrast, it was
not possible to successfully culture the species from the lagoon
waters. Cultures were also able to be grown from samples taken
from the sands of the artificial bank filtration materials as well as
scrape samples collected from mats growing on the rocks. There
was no preferred medium for culturing these cells, with viable

Table 2
Descriptive statistics for Limnothrix redekei cell counts and general water quality variables from Baffle Creek between September 2012 and December 2014.

Water Quality Variable Lagoon Raw Pre-Chlorinated

Range Average (SD) Range Average (SD) Range Average (SD)

Limnothrix redekei (cells/mL) 0–1050 126 (246) 0–15,400 2107 (3596) 0–13825 1896 (3644)
NH3 (mg/L) <LOR–0.024 0.010 (0.006) <LOR–0.230 0.069 (0.074) <LOR–0.133 0.025 (0.042)
NO2 (mg/L) <LOR <LOR <LOR <LOR <LOR <LOR
NO3 (mg/L) <LOR–0.487 0.083 (0.153) <LOR–0.443 0.091 (0.143) <LOR–0.709 0.204 (0.266)
TKN (mg/L) 0.200–0.400 0.256 (0.073) 0.200–0.400 0.250 (0.076) 0.050–0.300 0.156 (0.082)
TN (mg/L) 0.200–0.400 0.270 (0.073) 0.200–0.400 0.263 (0.074) 0.050–0.300 0.202 (0.105)
TP (mg/L) <LOR–0.060 0.021 (0.017) 0.010–0.050 0.026 (0.014) <LOR–0.110 0.039 (0.005)
TRP (mg/L) <LOR <LOR <LOR–0.020 0.010 (0.007) <LOR–0.040 0.011 (0.012)
Hardness (mg/L) <LOR–60.0 30.4 (20.2) <LOR–74.0 36.2 (23.4) <LOR–117.0 59.8 (35.2)
Cl (mg/L) 7.0–22.0 11.6 (6.1) 13.0–97.0 50.3 (27.5) 28.0–102.0 57.1 (24.9)
Ca2+ (mg/L) 1.0–9.0 4.1 (2.5) 4.0–13.0 7.3 (3.6) 8.0–27.0 16.0 (6.3)
Na+ (mg/L) 16.0–55.0 34.0 (12.7) 22.0–55.0 36.1 (10.7) 36.0–66.0 47.4 (9.3)
pH (mg/L) 6.4–8.1 6.9 (0.5) 6.4–7.3 7.0 (0.3) 6.6–8.2 7.1 (0.5)

LOR = limit of reporting; SD = standard deviation.

6 A.K. Rose et al. / Harmful Algae 76 (2018) 1–10
cultures developing with all three media types. Whilst growth
rates were not specifically measured during culturing, cells in the
autoclaved lagoon water were the first to be visibly detected,
possibly due to the Limnothrix redekei cultures being more rapidly
acclimated to the lagoon water (e.g. nutrient, conductivity, pH).
3.5.2. Morphological differences of Limnothrix redekei
The presence of central polar gas-vacuoles in Limnothrix redekei
samples was dependant on the place these were sampled.
Filaments from the surface of the lagoon and culture displayed
very conspicuous gas-vacuoles, whilst filaments from the supply
chain or scrape samples collected from biofilms lacked central
polar gas-vacuoles (Fig. 3).
Limnothrix redekei cultures when disturbed, in this case shaken
vigorously manually for 5 min, firstly distribute throughout the
culture vessel and after 10 min pull together to form a colony like
structure (Fig. 4). The specimen photographed in Fig. 5 illustrates
what the colony from Fig. 4 looks like in the field.
4. Discussion
4.1. Potential penetrative pathways
There are three potential pathways that may have allowed for
Limnothrix redekei to breakthrough or penetrate the artificial bank
filtration materials. First, during the extreme event of January
2013, the depth of the flood waters increased above the supply
chain infrastructure, thus allowing waters to bypass the bank
filtration and enter the drinking water supply chain directly
through the pump well opening. The second potential break-
through may have occurred during the same extreme event,
however, instead of entering through the pump well opening it is
possible these cells entered by passing through the artificial bank
filtration materials. The hydraulic pressure and damage sustained
by the flood waters compromised the bank and may have made the
passage of Limnothrix redekei through the bank possible. It is clear
that Limnothrix redekei was present in the water supply following
the major flood event, albeit cell concentrations were not in great
numbers (Fig. 2).
The third potential pathway for cyanobacteria passage into the
drinking water supply may have occurred during the subsequent
maintenance and upgrade of the drinking water supply
Fig. 3. Limnothrix redekei with gas-vacuoles. Sample A from the lagoon, B and C from culture surface. Limnothrix redekei without gas-vacuoles. Sample E was from the pre-
chlorinated pipe, D and F were from the raw water pipe.
infrastructure, specifically the newly installed pump well. The
old pump well was excavated and a new pump well installed, and
during this time period Limnothrix redekei and many other species
of algae and bacteria were observed attached to the rocks and sand
surrounding the pump well. After the new pump well was
installed, the biologically active sand and rocks were placed around
the pump well. This is the most probable time for large numbers of
Limnothrix redekei to pass into the water supply, considering it is
possible for Limnothrix redekei to survive and even thrive in
conditions where sunlight is minimal, and the motile nature of the
species (Rücker et al., 1997; Nicklisch et al., 2007).
The large variation in cell numbers between sites may have
resulted from sections of the Limnothrix redekei biofilm sloughing
off the pump well in small portions. It is also conceivable that
Limnothrix was growing in the pipes, however it was not possible to
accurately determine if this occurred. The only field evidence for
this possibility is that samples taken from a section of the replaced
pipe section did result in a viable culture, however the point of
origin of the Limnothrix redekei population may have been caused
from isolated cells in the water column, rather than from a
population that was attached or growing at this site.
4.2. Proliferation through ecological adaptions
Limnothrix redekei was initially described as a cyanobacterial
species common in turbulent waters (Dokulil and Teubner, 2000).
From laboratory observations during the present study and others
(Bernard et al., 2011), however, it is revealed that Limnothrix redekei
may be present in the benthos or the plankton. Planktonic material
has the potential to disperse and form new benthic mats. Evidence
for this was observed when disturbed cultures of Limnothrix
redekei featured the cells assemble together to form a ball-like
structure (Figs. 4 and 5), a phenomenon that has also been
described in the field by Bernard et al. (2011). When cultured in the
laboratory, Limnothrix redekei preferentially grows on all surfaces
(Bernard et al., 2011). When all surfaces are covered it is, however,
proposed that vacuolation increases and cells float to the top
where these combine (Fig. 5).
Clumping together following disturbance (Figs. 4 and 5) or
when expelled by the benthic mat has ecological benefits through
increasing the probability that another viable colony will develop.
Furthermore, Limnothrix redekei ecological clumping behaviours
 A.K. Rose et al. / Harmful Algae 76 (2018) 1–10
Fig. 4. Limnothrix redekei clumping behaviour, A (0 min), B (2 min), C, (4 min), D (6 min), E (8 min) and F (10 min). Minutes following disturbance.
may protect some cells from chlorination, as it might be expected
that only cells present on the exterior of the clumping ball would
be exposed to chlorine. Subsequently, filaments that are located
internally may avoid the chlorination treatment, due to the lack of
direct contact; and thus may survive to potentially contaminate
surfaces in the drinking water treatment facilities. If the organism
passes through into the drinking water treatment plant infra-
structure, light may be extremely variable (e.g. open aeration
tanks) and Limnothrix redekei would have to adapt to changing light
regimes.
The Limnothrix redekei detected on rocks exposed to a greater
amounts of sunlight appeared to have had photosynthetic
pigments that were dull and bleached with a yellow-brown
colouring. This is similar to that described by Foy and Gibson
Fig. 5. Limnothrix redekei floating ball structure in a subcultured field specimen.
7
(1982) and Foy et al. (1976), who noted that photosynthetic
pigment reduction is an adaptation to greater amounts of sunlight.
By comparison, visual inspection (but not detailed pigment
analyses) suggested that the same cells that were detected at
sites where there was less sunlight (e.g. Pump Well), had greater
pigmentation, again consistent with the findings of Foy and Gibson
(1982). The ecological reason for the increase and decrease in
photosynthetically active pigments is considered a practical
adaptation to a range of light conditions, giving Limnothrix redekei
a competitive advantage as compared with other cyanobacteria
and algae that do not have the ability to modify photosynthetic
pigment content. Limnothrix redekei may possess the ability to
survive dark conditions, with studies showing that if it has a carbon
source (Daniels, 2016) or it is associated with heterotrophic
bacteria (Meffert, 1989) it will survive.
4.3. Identification using microscopy aided by a simple culturing
technique
Limnothrix redekei was first classed in the Order Oscillatoriales,
however, more recently taxonomic revision places it within Order
Synechococcales and Family Pseudanabaenaceae (Komárek et al.,
2014). Important features originally associated with the morpho-
logical identification of Limnothrix redekei were the presence of
parietal thylakoids, sheath absent, regular filaments and gas-
vacuoles (Meffert, 1989; Gkelis et al., 2005; Komárek et al., 2014). If
the gas-vacuoles are absent, however, the task of identification
becomes much more difficult (Bernard et al., 2011). The quality of
the laboratory microscope is also very important for identification:
a microscope with phase contrast is preferred, due to the gas
vacuoles being more easily identified. During the present study, it
was observed that the central polar gas-vacuoles were only
8 A.K. Rose et al. / Harmful Algae 76 (2018) 1–10
sometimes present (e.g. Fig. 3). The gas-vacuoles were only present
in samples collected from the surface of the lagoon waters and in
the surface of laboratory cultures; whereas gas-vacuoles were not
detected in filaments found in the pipes (both chlorinated and
unchlorinated) or on the benthic mats present on the artificial bank
filtration. Fortunately, the culturing of the population provided
some assistance in the morphological identification of Limnothrix
redekei.
The culture technique generated in the present study was based
on reflecting the Limnothrix redekei ecology observed in the field
and laboratory. When grown on a window sill or growth cabinet,
filaments present in the sample attached to the Petri dish where
these cells remained even after being rinsed systematically. After
all other cells present in the sample were washed away, a
monospecific culture was produced. The benefit of this ‘low
technology’ culture method is that it does not require specialised
infrastructure or the skilled expertise required for conducting
other techniques. It is also a very cost effective method that can be
conducted with water sourced at the site of the water supply or
with distilled water. If budget is no constraint, culturing can also be
achieved using the ASM-1 media used for many other cyanobac-
terial species (Gorham et al., 1964). The method can be used to
easily ascertain if there are Limnothrix redekei present near or
around any water supply intake points, thus making risk assess-
ments more straightforward.
4.4. Proposed protocol for preventing penetration
Considering the analytical results and observations in the
present study, a change to drinking water supply infrastructure
maintenance protocols is proposed. The change to protocols would
be to use clean sands and rocks to cover the subsurface layers of the
pump well. The older biologically active sands and rocks that are
already on site should be used to cap the subsurface layers. This has
benefits in that it increases the competition by other commensal
microbes and thus inhibits or limits the rate of development of
populations of Limnothrix redekei, so this species would be less
likely to dominate the biota. The biologically active layer also has
benefits in cyanotoxin removal (Grützmacher et al., 2009; Chorus
et al., 2003; Miller et al., 2001; Dillon et al., 2002; Chorus and
Bartram, 1999), reduction of metals (Freitas et al., 2012; Lorenzen
et al., 2010), reduction or elimination of pathogenic bacteria (Weiss
et al., 2005; Ray et al., 2003; Thakur et al., 2013; Wang, 2002; Dash
et al., 2010; Shamrukh and Abdel-Wahab, 2008) and water quality
variable adjustment (Freitas et al., 2012). Biofilms grown in
conjunction with cyanobacterial populations are more efficient at
removing cyanotoxins (Babica et al., 2005), which makes the
decision to cap with existing pre-conditioned soil a logical option
in water supply chains.
5. Conclusion
Limnothrix redekei, historically, has been a problematic species
throughout Europe, causing many difficulties for water treatment
managers (Rücker et al., 1997; Köhler and Hoeg, 2000; Teubner,
2000). Recently Limnothrix redekei has been reported throughout
Australia, in particular Central Queensland (Bernard et al., 2011;
Stitz et al., 2013). Due to the observed morphological variability of
Limnothrix redekei, it is possible that Limnothrix redekei is present in
many other regions of Australia. The lack of central, polar gas
vacuoles has, however, made the identification of these microbes
complicated, which could possibly result in under-reporting or
misreporting. Furthermore, morphological differences aside, the
ecological niche in Australia also appears different to that known
from Europe, with the species exhibiting benthic rather than
planktonic ecological niches. These considerations, combined with
the reality that some laboratories rely on dated microscope
infrastructure which lacks the capacity to identify specific
microbial features, clearly limit the opportunities for effectively
identifying whether Limnothrix redekei are present in samples. A
combination of these three factors may help explain why
Limnothrix redekei has not been as readily identified in Australian
water bodies as it has elsewhere. As such, culturing techniques are
important in aiding an accurate identification.
Use of the culture method developed in the present study may
help simplify the identification process of Limnothrix redekei,
which in turn can help in informing managers if the cyanobacteri-
um is present. Understanding the ecological behaviours of
Limnothrix redekei also provides valuable information that can
be used to monitor for the species as well as facilitate
implementation of strategies in avoiding future contamination
in the drinking water supply infrastructure. Extreme events similar
to those experienced during the present study are predicted to
increase in frequency in the future, and during these events the
possibilities of contamination are increased. To minimise risk in
the future, the proposed maintenance/upgrade protocol is
recommended in conjunction with field monitoring to include
any pump wells.
To develop an enhanced understanding of the toxicity of
Limnothrix redekei and its ecological behaviours, additional
experimentation is required. Future studies should include the
identification of the toxin, toxicity tests and chlorination experi-
ments to establish the most effective dosing rates. More research is
required to ascertain whether Limnothrix redekei is able to continue
to grow in other sections of drinking water supply chains including
the drinking water treatment plant, storage reservoirs and supply
chain pipes. The ability of cyanobacterial species to adapt to every
ecological niche is very well documented, therefore, it is not
surprising that Limnothrix redekei are able to survive and even
thrive in manmade structures. This leads to an emerging need to
identify, prevent and manage Limnothrix redekei in regional water
supplies, including monitoring that is focused on presence within
structures of the treatment plants.
Acknowledgements
Appreciation is given to James Kinder, Amie Anastasi, Neville
Doyle and Christopher O’Neill for their constructive comments.
Special thanks go to Kevin Jeffery for assistance with data
collection, and Anthony Kodel for his magnificent photographic
skills. Finally thank you to Gladstone Regional Council for funding
the research. The Authors declare they have no actual or potential
competing financial interests. [CG]
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